Shaman
by Instigator666
Summary: Deep in the wild there are only two creatures. The hunter and the hunted. Harry Potter is now gone all that is left is the hunter left behind.


Chapter 1

Struggling through the underbrush an odd shape emerged following a the tell-tale signs of the hunt. Dropping down on a knee the fur covered creature examines the blood trail from the wounded game intently. Looking up, the dirty face of a young man appears. Wise green eyes look into the forest for its prey, a young female elk. Reaching his kill he pulls out a small leather bundle pulling a crude stone knife and begins cleaning the carcase. After getting all the meat he was able to and pulling all the hide from the creature the seemingly primal man heads back into the woods taking his kill with him.

Stopping at a crude dome like structure of stretched animal hide and wood the figure laid the mean carefully over a rack and set the elk hide on top of the structure. Putting more wood from a pile onto the smoldering fire the figure sits down on a stump and removed the hood revealing himself to the warm fire in front of him.

Wiping a strand of dirty black hair out of his face the young hunter breaths a sigh of relief while pulling a leather flask from the folds of his layers of animal pelts he wore, taking a large drink. Letting the refreshing water give him some more energy he pulls of several layers until he was down to what would be a crudely made vest and put the rest of his cloths into the hut. Grabbing the hide off the hut he places in a vat of carved stone filled with water to soak. Sighing he grabs a chunk of meat off the rack and skewers it before putting it over the flames. Propping it up on the stones he sits back and stares into the fire his mind wandering.

It was four years ago when Harry Potter was abandoned in Buryatia by his Aunt after he was the only one to survive a car crash that killed his Uncle and Cousin. She blamed the accident solely on the boy and this left her completely distraught. Knowing she couldn't kill him out of fear Harry ⌠kind■ would find out she only came to one conclusion, she must get rid of him. One morning she had him pack up all his possessions and her sons things she took all the money she could until the life insurance money came in and she drove from Privet Drive to the coast and still that was not far enough. Getting her car ferried to the mainland she drove all across Europe. Still this wasn't far enough in her tormented mind. Driving clear to Russia she found where she would leave the boy. Northwest of Lake Baikal deep int the woods she dropped the boy off with the bundles of cloths, a box of matches, and Vernon's fathers pocket watch and drove off.

The six year old had no idea what to do. As all small children do when lost he sat with this possessions and waited for two days before he realized she was gone and he was by himself. Harry was a rather smart child much to the ire of his aunt in uncle with his grades being much better that his cousins so he thought of a plan. He knew he needed four things to survive food, water, shelter, and warmth. His first action was shelter, gathering dead trees and branches he set out to build a new home. Tearing some shirts to hold the trees together he built a basic lean-to shelter. Knowing that was the best he could build he went next to fire. He knew that he had to keep his fire going as long as possible because if he ran out of matches he would be in trouble. Collecting what he thought was enough for a long time (that turned out to be only ten hours) he thought about food. He knew there was a lake and river that fed into it near by, but he had no idea how to catch fish let alone how to hunt when it would freeze over.

Until he learned the proper technique for spearing fish he was very hungry for the first week, but quickly he learned not only to catch food, but he had to make sure to have food for later if fishing wasn't as good later. Through trial and error he learned how to preserve his fish by drying it first then smoking it in an ingenious smoke room he built. He had to try a few times due to burning the room, but once he found it he had a staple of dried fish that would last considerable time.

Nearly three months later it had become summer and Harry was hunting his first animal. While fish was good and he had a large store he knew he needed to learn to hunt if he was going to be waiting for someone to find him. He was in luck he tracked an elk that seemed to have had been injured. He had a spear that he fashioned from a sturdy piece of oak. Following the animal for what seemed miles the creature finally gave him his opening. Rushing at it with no real plan he took the wounded animal by surprise thrusting his spear through the jugular getting sprayed with blood. The animal kicked and writhed for a minute before succumbing to blood loss. Standing there the now seven year old was in shock at the amount of blood the animal had. Shacking himself and grabbed the beast and with strength that was truly astounding he slowly dragged the carcase almost three miles to his hut. Having no experience with cleaning a deer he thought about what he would need. Remembering something about how the Neanderthals would make blades from rocks he went about fashioning a blade. He ended up with several rocks that would work one was flat almost like a razor while the other would work for cutting the meat from the animal. While he tried not to waste any nearly half the meat went to waste when he hit the bowels and released its contents essentially spoiling the remaining meat. Dragging the rest of the carcase away while the meat was being smoked he proceeded to skin the beast. Burying the remains out of respect to the great animal he went back to camp with his new pelt and the antlers of Elk.

Now that the hunt was in his system Harry's life was changing. While he held onto hope about being found for the first year he was no longer afraid of the forest he now called home. He learned to use the environment to suite his needs while he changed to fit in with nature. He tanned hides for clothing and to change his primitive hut into a more spacious wigwam which he built into the ground for more heat retention. While he kept all the old cloths as bedding he began to wear the leathers instead of the cloths he came to forest with. He saw them as remnants of his old life and the leather of the animals he hunted were his life now. He no longer needed the watch or the matches as time had no meaning in the forest and he learned to create fire with rocks and kindling. Life was simple and Harry was actually happy for once. He felt a kinship with the world around him.

While he always knew that strange things happened to him he never questioned it. From the time he suddenly appeared on top of the school to being unharmed in the car accident, he knew that neither event was ⌠normal■, but he didn't know what to think about the events. Even hear four thousand miles away from England strange things would continue to happen. Sitting at the waters edge the now nine year old Harry Potter focused on the water as he breathed slowly, taking in the beauty of his lake. Sitting in a trance he felt a presence almost reaching out to him. Focusing on the feeling he let the presence complete him. It was the soft rains of summer, it was the crushing force of the river, it was life, it was freezing death. The water was calling to him. Startled he finally allowed himself to open his eyes and stare into the crystal clear liquid. It was the same, but there was a presence pulling at his mind focusing his attention to a single smooth black stone. Reaching in he pulled it out examining it he couldn't find anything distinguishing about it, but he held it close and focused on finding the presence again and he felt it. Pulling his mind back to the waters tranquility focusing on the feelings of power that a rushing river has he was startled at the roaring sound in front of him. The lake in front of him was churning and bubbling disturbing the silt in front of him. Shocked he let go of stone and the water calmed. He was enthralled with the power that he just felt. Picking up the stone he tried to focus on something else he could try. Focusing on the feeling of winters absolute cold he directed it towards the lake and he was amazed as crystals of ice formed a few feet around him. He stopped directing the power and was amazed. Holding the rock he decided to go back to camp and think about what had just transpired.

It was a few weeks of trial and error before Harry understood what the stone represented. The stone itself wasn't powerful, but was a totem that the element water chose to be the focus for Harry. Harry eventually was able to communicate with Water. It was less a conversation then a sharing of idea and feelings. It took Harry weeks to understand feeling from the element, but it finally became clear and Harry did all it could to learn from the element of life. Besides affecting the physical things around him he slowly learned to draw energy from the totem giving him energy if could get his mind at peace. The totem of water was just the start of a series of strange events in Harry's life.

The hunt continued for Harry. While he had considerable stocks he always made sure to hunt once a month and fish as much as possible. His water totem on him at all time. Tied with a strap leather across his chest to always keep the element near him. He kept him self within fifty square miles of his home, but he was always exploring and discovering the world around him. He saw, hunted, and trapped many animals, but sometimes the hunter can quickly become the hunted.

Harry Knew there were bears and wolves in his forest, but he never encountered them on his hunts. A few weeks after accepting his totem of water his luck ran out. While checking his traps he found that they had already been found by another creature of the forest. The bear must have been quite old and powerful to survived in the shape it was in. Its face was disfigured with scars which seemed to have destroyed its right eye, but its other senses seemed to be as sharp as ever. Feasting on the carcase of the trapped rabbit it heard Harry's approach. Creeping up he watched intently, the way only one predator would another that had stolen his kill. This did not sit well with the great creature who decided another predator was a threat and suddenly with great speed he charged.

Maybe it was the acute senses he developed over the years in the forest or just luck, but he narrowly avoided the swipe of the bears claws. Rolling quickly to his feet he ran. He could hear the bellowing animal as he scrambled around the brush deeper into the forest, but the bear continued his chase plowing though obstacles in what could only be rage at the other predator for evading him. The chase was short, but intense as Harry made it close to camp he realized his attacker had given up. Slowing to a cautious trot Harry noticed the paw had much close that he thought. Feeling something wet on his arm he realized the animal had slashed his arm by the shoulder. Sitting at camp he tended his wounds with boiling water. The wounds were not likely to cause problems, but would scar leaving three parallel scars by his shoulder. Eating a quick meal the young hunter laid to rest planning the next hunt. 


End file.
